Social Investment Scotland (SIS) said total unrestricted income including lending operations, fees, transfers and grants had reached £1.46 million in the year, an uplift of 11% on the year previous.

Over the course of the year, SIS has invested a total of £3.4m in more than 35 organisations throughout Scotland. This includes £502,000 invested from Asda Community Capital in 14 projects, £1.1m from SIS Community Finance in 18 projects, £1.7m from the Social Growth Fund in five projects and a further £87,000 from other third party funds managed by SIS.

The lending total from 2016/2017 means that SIS has now invested more than £56 million in over 270 organisations since being established back in 2001.

Total unrestricted income including lending operations, management fees, transfers and grants amounted to £1,462,000 - up 11% from the previous year (2016: £1,413,000).

SIS CEO Alastair Davis said: “Just as social enterprises are becoming more knowledgeable about the range of financial options available to them, so SIS has worked hard to ensure that we continue developing financial products and business support services which meet the sector’s changing needs.

“We are not only lending money to our customers, we are providing them with a partner and adviser to support them on their journeys to create sustainable futures.

“Programmes such as our investment readiness programme have been a crucial part of this activity, helping social enterprises to understand the challenges not just in accessing capital, but in getting their organisations finance-fit.”